Towel dispenser tail guard

ABSTRACT

A shield for a rolled web material dispenser and that is defined by a body that extends continuously between a first end and a second end, as well as between a pair of respective sidewalls. The first end of body is contoured to secure the body proximate a discharge opening of an enclosure, while second end of body is offset from the first end at a distance that allows body to overlie an exposed tail of web material extending through discharge opening. The pair of respective sidewalls extend in a rearward direction such that the shield flanks the forward facing and opposing edges of the exposed tail of the rolled web material.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS

This non-provisional patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/109,148 filed on Nov. 3, 2020 titled “Towel Dispenser Tail Guard” and the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to towel or rolled web material dispensers and is more specifically directed to a shield or guard that is constructed to cooperate with the dispenser housing to isolate an exposed tail end of the web material that depends, or hangs downwardly, from a dispense location of a web material dispenser assembly.

Dispensers for dispensing discrete portions of rolled paper or web material product from bulk rolls of such materials have been employed for many years and across various industries and for various applications. Such dispensers are widely used in kitchen and public lavatory environments to dispense paper toweling for users to dry their hands. Typically, a bulk roll of sheet material is supported within a dispenser cabinet or housing and incrementally rotationally advanced to dispense discrete portions of the bulk material roll. In manually operated devices, manual actuation of a button or lever effectuates operation of a feed mechanism configured to rotationally advance the bulk roll and dispense a tail end of the sheet material beyond the confines of the cabinet or housing for use by the user. The feed mechanism typically includes a feed drum or roller that is associated with a drive roller and an idle roller to effectuate the desired sequential incremental advancement of the web material from the bulk roll. A manually actuated lever interacts with the drive roller so that actuation of the lever rotates the drive roller. Rotation of the drive roller acts to unwind material from the material roll. These manually actuated roll dispensing assemblies therefore require end users to touch the button or lever to obtain paper toweling. Due to the number of end users touching the button or lever, the button or lever is a high touch surface and can be heavily contaminated with viruses and bacteria.

Alternative dispensers, which eliminate or limit manual operation of the roll material dispensing systems, are often referred to as “contactless” or “touchless” dispensers. Some such dispensers commonly use one or more proximity sensors that detect the presence of a hand or other part of a user relative to the dispenser and include a motorized feed assembly that advance the feed mechanism to effectuate dispensing of the sheet material from the housing. End users can therefore obtain paper toweling without touching the dispensing assembly. Furthermore, paper toweling is only exposed to the environment when an end user desires to use such paper toweling. However, these electronic sensor-operated dispensers are expensive to obtain and require batteries and/or source power to remain operational. Many users therefore consider it cost prohibitive to replace manual operating roll material dispensing systems with electronic sensor-operated dispensers.

Manual contactless dispensers are a low-cost alternative that offer touch free dispensing but commonly leave an exposed end of the roll material, referred to by many as a tail, exposed for the end user to grab and extract or remove a desired length of paper material from the dispenser. Occasionally the exposed tail is provided in a desired use length and other dispensers are configured to present a truncated dose portion such that user interaction with the tail effectuates operation of the dispensing mechanism, perforation or tearing of the web material from the roll, and continued operation to present a tail that is accessible for subsequent dispense events.

Regardless of the relative length of a tail presented, user interaction with the exposed tail end of the roll operates the feed mechanism of the dispenser to present a subsequent tail or volume of towel material for use by subsequent users after a previous user has acquired a desired amount of web material. The tail end of the roll material extends from the dispenser allowing end users to grasp and remove a section of roll material from the roll material web such that the end user or consumer commonly must not interact with the structure of the dispenser to attain a desired volume of web material. However, while these dispensers offer touch free manual dispensing, the exposed tail end of the roll material remains exposed to the operating environment and is left susceptible to exposure to any contagions associated therewith such as airborne or droplet dispersed contagions such as viruses and bacteria that may be present in the environment or expirated by preceding users. Such instances tend to negate the objective of the user having washed their hands immediately before drying their hands with the potentially soiled rolled web material.

Accordingly, there is a need to maintain the hygiene and/or level of sanitation associated with dispensing rolled web towel material in a touch-less and cost effective manner and a manner wherein a sanitary condition of any exposed portion of the web material can be better maintained between discrete users.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention discloses a shield and method of forming a web material guard for use with web material dispenser assemblies that resolves one or more of the shortcomings disclosed above.

One aspect of the present application discloses a germ guard for use with a web material dispenser. The germ guard includes a body that extends continuously between a first end and a second end as well as between a pair of respective sidewalls. The first end of the body is shaped to cooperate with the contour of the body so as to be disposed adjacent to a discharge opening of the rolled web material dispenser. The second end of the body is offset from the first end at a distance that allows the body to overlie an exposed end of web material extending through the discharge opening defined by the dispenser assembly. The sidewalls extend in a rearward direction toward a rear wall or base of the dispenser assembly between the first end and the second end of the body and are oriented to flank opposing edges of exposed end portions of the web material such that the shield limits contact and access to the exposed end portion of the web material.

Another aspect of the present application discloses a web material dispenser having an enclosure that is defined by a cover that is pivotably connected to a base and shaped to define a cavity shaped to receive a bulk roll of web material. The web material dispenser includes a dispense opening formed through the enclosure. The web material dispenser further includes a shield that is attached to the enclosure proximate the dispense opening and oriented to overlie an end of the bulk roll of web material that extends beyond the enclosure through the dispense opening.

Yet another aspect of the present invention discloses a method of limiting exposure to an exposed tail end of a roll of web material depending from a rolled web material dispenser. The method includes providing a guard constructed to be secured to a rolled web material dispenser such that the guard extends over an exposed portion of a rolled web material that extends from the dispenser during use thereof and mitigates airborne pollutants from corrupting the sanitary condition of the exposed tail between users.

Another aspect of the present application that is usable or combinable with one or more of the above aspects discloses a pair of respective sidewalls of the shield being shorter than a width of the body.

Another aspect of the present application usable or combinable with one or more of the above aspects discloses the body of the shield as being transparent or translucent to allow visual inspection of the tail end of web material disposed therebehind.

Still another aspect of the present application usable or combinable with one or more of the aspects disclosed above discloses that the body of the shield removeably cooperates with the housing of the rolled web material dispenser.

Another aspect of the present application usable or combinable with one or more of the aspects includes pivotably connecting the shield to the enclosure such that the shield can rotate relative to the rolled material dispenser when secured thereto. Such a consideration allows the shield to be disposed in close proximity to the exposed tail of the web material without adversely impacting the underlying operation of the dispenser assembly and the ability to reload the underlying rolled web material dispenser assembly.

These and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description, claims, and accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A clear conception of the advantages and features constituting the present invention, and of the construction and operation of typical mechanisms provided with the present invention, will become more readily apparent by referring to the exemplary, and therefore non-limiting, embodiments illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, wherein like reference numerals designate the same elements in the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a manual hands-free rolled web material dispenser assembly having a shield according to the present invention attached thereto;

FIG. 2 is a generally forward facing perspective view of the shield of FIG. 1 removed from the underlying rolled web material dispenser;

FIG. 3 is a generally rearward or towel facing perspective view of the shield shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the rolled web material dispenser and shield assembly shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the rolled web material dispenser and shield assembly shown in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In describing the preferred embodiments of the invention which are illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific terms so selected and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose. The various features and advantageous details of the subject matter disclosed herein are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments described in detail in the following description.

Initially, FIG. 1 shows an exemplary dispenser assembly 10 when deployed for use in a customary manner and having a germ guard or tail end shield 40 according to the present invention secured thereto.

Referring to FIG. 1, material dispenser 10 includes a cabinet, housing or enclosure 14 that is shaped to receive a replaceable bulk roll of sheet or web material 16 therein. Enclosure 14 is defined by a base, back, or back wall 17, a first sidewall 18, a second opposing sidewall 20, a floor 22, and a front cover 24. Front cover 24 is defined by a first cover sidewall 26, a second opposing cover sidewall 28, a first cover shoulder portion 30, a second cover shoulder portion 32, and face portion 34. Back wall 17, first sidewall 18, second opposing sidewall 20, floor 22, and front cover 24 cooperate with one another to define an interior cavity (not shown) of enclosure 14. Enclosure 14 may be formed of plastic or other suitable material. The back wall 17, sidewalls 18, 20, and floor 22 collectively form a rear portion or base of enclosure 14. Preferably, sidewalls 18, 20, floor 22, and back wall 17 are provided in a unitary single body construction. Similarly, first cover sidewall 26, second opposing cover sidewall 28, first cover shoulder portion 30, second cover shoulder portion 32, and face portion 34 of cover 24 collectively form a front facing portion of enclosure 14 and are also provided in a unitary single body construction.

Cover 24 movably cooperates with the rear or base portion of enclosure 14 to selectively expose the cavity or interior space (not shown) of dispenser assembly 10 and which is associated with receiving discrete sequential rolls of web material 16 associated therewith. In one embodiment, cover 24 may movably cooperate with rear portion of enclosure through a pivot connection. As disclosed above, it is appreciated that the rearward portion of enclosure 14 or that portion that is generally rearward of cover 24 may be formed as a single or multiple piece assembly formed by injection molding, blow molding, thermoforming, roto molding, or other suitable manufacturing processes. Alternatively, the various walls or panels that define enclosure 14 may be separately manufactured parts that are connected by methodologies such as welds, moldings, fasteners, solder, overlapping snap fit connections, or the like.

Once a roll of web material 16 has been inserted on an axis (not shown) and placed within cavity (not shown) of enclosure 14, tail or end portion 36 of the roll of web material 16 extends from cavity (not shown) beyond the confines of enclosure 14 through a dispense or discharge opening 38 defined by enclosure 14. As disclosed above, when configured for manual hands-free dispensing operation, user interaction with tail portion 36 during removal, actuates the drive mechanism internal to enclosure 14 so as to present another similarly sized subsequent sequential tail portion 36. Depending on the configuration of the dispenser assembly 10, manual operation of the dispense mechanism 41, indicated by a dial associated therewith, may periodically be necessary or desired to achieve the desired presentation of tail end 36. Although a user may require or desired more than one “dose” or discrete predesignated length of web material by successive interaction with tail portion 36, once a desired volume of web material has been acquired by the user, dispenser assembly 10 is generally presented in the manner shown in FIG. 1 wherein a successive tail portion 36 remains presented for use by a subsequent user. Although enclosure 14 substantially protects the integrity of the bulk roll of web material contained therein between uses, the exposed tail portion 36 of the web material remains exposed to the operating environment as well as persons passing therethrough. Such a methodology leaves the tail portion 36 susceptible to exposure and collection of any contagions that may be present in the environment and/or inadvertently directed thereat via coughs, sneezes, or the like. Consequently, user's may be less inclined to use towel dispensers that require interaction with the dispenser to effectuate advancement of a tail portion 36 and/or that present a tail portion 36 wherein the tail portion 36 is exposed to the environment due to hesitation with respect to the perceived degree of sanitation thereof. Such concerns can actually detract for the sanitation of the environment wherein some users may decide to forgo washing of their hands and/or forego drying of their hands in lieu of the use of potentially contaminated web towel material.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, germ guard or shield 40 is constructed to cooperate with dispenser assembly 10 to limit exposure of the exposed end or tail portion 36 of web material 16 to contagions associated with users, the surroundings, and/or the operating environment. Shield 40 is defined by a body portion 42 and a pair of opposing sidewalls 44. The body portion 42 extends between a first or upper end 46 and a second or lower end 48 of shield 40. First end 46 is shaped and contoured so that body portion 42 may be secured to front cover 24 of dispenser assembly 10 as described further below. Shield 40 is further secured to front cover 24 so that body portion 42 is disposed proximate discharge opening 38 of dispenser assembly 10 and generally overlies the exposed tail portion 36 of web material 16. As disclosed further below with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5, when secured or attached to a respective dispenser assembly 10, shield 40 is preferably constructed to generally overlie each of the forward facing and opposing lateral side portions of tail portion 36 of web material 16. It should be appreciated that shield 40 can be provided in shapes other than that which is shown to be constructed to cooperate with the construction of an underlying dispenser assembly to maintain the sanitary condition of the exposed tail and to overlie the forward and side facing surfaces of the tail portion without unduly interfering or obscuring user access to the same.

Regardless of the relative shape of shield and the underlying dispenser assembly, second or lower end 48 of body portion 42 is offset from first or upper end 46 at a distance 60 (FIG. 4) allowing body portion 42 of shield 40 to be secured to the underlying dispenser assembly 10 and extend over or overlie tail end portion 36 of web material 16 extending from discharge opening 38. The pair of opposing sidewalls 44 of shield 40 extend or project rearwardly from a front facing body portion 42 of shield 44 towards back wall 17 a distance 62 (FIG. 5) sufficient to allow the sidewalls 44 to overlie tail portion 36 from the respective lateral side directions or opposing lateral sides of dispenser assembly 10. In a representative embodiment, sidewalls 44 further extend along body portion 42, between first or upper end 46 to second or lower end 48. Sidewalls 44 therefore flank opposing edges of the exposed tail or end portion 36 of web material 16. The distance that sidewalls 44 extend rearwardly from the center forward facing portion of body 42 may be less than the width of body 42. Preferably, sidewalls 44 extend in a generally rearward direction a distance 62 that is sufficient to allow the sidewalls 44 to flank and overlie the generally opposite lateral edges of the tail portion 36 of webbed material 16. The body portion 42 and opposing sidewalls 44 limit exposure of tail portion 36 to the environment, mitigate contamination, and increase sanitation of the exposed tail 36 of web material 16.

Referring to FIGS. 1-5, shield 40 may be attached to dispenser 10 through one or more methodologies such as one or more double-sided tape strips 64, mechanical fasteners arrangements, such as magnetic arrangements or a pivot pin 66 or the like constructed to extend from an interior surface of a shield 40′ (FIG. 1) and engage a corresponding cavity formed in the underlying dispenser assembly 10, chemical or solvent bonding, or other connection methodologies such as adhesives, snap-fitting connection, as a few examples. It is appreciated that shield 40 could be constructed to removeably, movably, or be more permanently affixed to an underlying dispenser 10.

When using shield 40, web material 16 is placed within the enclosure 14 (shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5) of dispenser 10 with end portion or tail 36 extending through discharge opening 38 and generally disposed behind shield 40. In a preferred embodiment, shield 40 is transparent or translucent so that the end user can see through the shield 40 and visually assess the availability of tail portion 36 of the web material 16. End users may look through shield 40 to see the availability, location, position, and orientation of end portion 36, reach generally under shield 40, or around shield 40 if sufficiently spaced from a supporting structure such as a wall 70 or the like (FIG. 5), grasp the tail portion 36 of the web material, and remove tail portion 36 from dispenser 10 to dry his or her hands. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, tail portion 36 of rolled web material is disposed behind shield 40 from both a forward facing direction, as shown in FIG. 4, as well as the opposing lateral side directions, as shown in FIG. 5, but remains accessible to users from directions generally below shield 40 or from lateral side directions from areas rearward of the trailing or free edges of respective sidewalls 44. Shield 40 therefore prevents unnecessary exposure of tail portion 36 to the environment and other users associated therewith. Dispensers 10 equipped with shield 40 allows for providing a contactless or touchless manual web material dispenser event with increased sanitation while eliminating the high installation and maintenance costs associated with employing entirely electronically sensor-operated automatic dispensing assemblies. Shield 40 provides an economical and environmentally friendly alternative to disposing of previously acquired dispenser assemblies which may include exposed towel tails and allows such economically producible towel dispenser assembly to be configured to incrementally dispense rolled towel material in a manner that protects the sanitary condition associated with the exposed tail end and in a manner that allows interaction with the tail end to effectuate the gradual and sequential advancement of the web material from the underlying dispenser assembly.

Further, it is appreciated that the shield 40 may be implemented in a variety of configurations, using certain features or aspects of the embodiments described herein and others known in the art. Thus, although the invention has been shown and described in what is perceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific features and embodiments set forth above. Rather, it is recognized that modifications may be made by one of skill in the art of the invention without departing from the spirit or intent of the invention and, therefore, the invention is to be taken as including all reasonable equivalents to the subject matter of the claims.

Therefore, one aspect of the present application discloses a germ guard or shield for use with a web material dispenser wherein the guard includes a body that extends continuously between a first end and a second end and a pair of respective sidewalls. The first end of the body is shaped and sized to fit snugly around the perimeter of the body, proximate to a discharge opening of the rolled web material dispenser. The second end of the body is offset from the first end at a distance that allows the body to overlie an exposed tail of web material extending through the discharge opening. The sidewalls extend in a backwards or rearward direction at locations between the first end and the second end of the body and are oriented to flank opposing edges of the exposed tail such that shield limits exposure of the available tail end of the web material.

Another aspect of the present application discloses a web material dispenser having an enclosure that is defined by a cover that is pivotably connected to a base and shaped to define a cavity shaped to receive a bulk roll of web material. The web material dispenser includes a dispense opening formed through the enclosure. The web material dispenser further includes a shield attached to the enclosure proximate the dispense opening and oriented to overlie an end of the bulk roll of web material that extends beyond the enclosure through the dispense opening.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method of limiting exposure to an exposed tail end of a roll of web material depending from a rolled web material dispenser. The method includes providing a guard constructed to be secured to a rolled web material dispenser such that the guard depends over an exposed portion of a rolled web material that depends from the dispenser during use thereof.

These are other aspects, advantages, features, and equivalents thereof, are encompassed by the appending claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A shield for a rolled web material dispenser, the shield comprising: a body that extends continuously between a first end and a second end and a pair of respective sidewalls; the first end of the body being contoured to secure the body proximate a discharge opening of an enclosure; the second end of the body being offset from the first end at a distance that allows the body to overlie an exposed tail of web material extending through the discharge opening; and the respective sidewalls extending in a rearward direction at locations between the first end and the second end of the body and oriented to flank opposing edges of the exposed tail such that the exposed tail of the web material is accessible from locations below the body of the shield.
 2. The shield of claim 1 wherein the body is at least one of transparent or translucent.
 3. The shield of claim 1 further comprising a pivot constructed to allow the shield to rotate relative to the enclosure when secured thereto.
 4. The shield of claim 1 wherein the pair of respective sidewalls are shorter than a width of the body.
 5. The shield of claim 1 when the body removably cooperates with the rolled web material dispenser.
 6. The shield of claim 1 wherein the second end of the body extends in a rearward direction between the respective sidewalls.
 7. The shield of claim 1 further comprising an adhesive tape disposed proximate the first end of the body and having a first side adhered to the body and a second side configured to engage the enclosure.
 8. A method of limiting exposure to an exposed tail end of a roll of web material that depends from a rolled web material dispenser, the method comprising: providing a guard constructed to be secured to a rolled web material dispenser such that the guard depends over an exposed portion of a rolled web material that depends from the dispenser during use thereof.
 9. The method of claim 8 further comprising shaping an upper portion of the guard to have a shape that is similar to a shape of a lower portion of the rolled web material dispenser.
 10. The method of claim 8 further comprising forming the guard of at least one of a transparent material and a translucent material.
 11. The method of claim 8 further comprising forming a pair of sidewalls at respective opposing lateral ends of the guard and that extend in a rearward direction.
 12. The method of claim 11 further comprising forming the pair of sidewalls to extend in the rearward direction a shorter distance than a width of guard.
 13. The method of claim 8 further comprising forming a pivot between the guard and the rolled web material dispenser that allows the guard to rotate relative to a cover of the rolled material dispenser when the guard is attached thereto.
 14. The method of claim 8 further comprising forming the guard to removeably cooperate with the rolled web material dispenser.
 15. A rolled web material dispenser comprising: an enclosure defined by a cover that is pivotably connected to a base and shaped to define a cavity shaped to receive a bulk roll of web material; a dispense opening formed through the enclosure; a feed mechanism disposed in the enclosure and configured to present a tail of the bulk roll of web material during each dispense event; and a shield attached to the enclosure proximate the dispense opening and oriented to overlie the tail of the bulk roll of web material that extends beyond the enclosure through the dispense opening.
 16. The rolled web material dispenser of claim 15 wherein the shield is at least one of pivotably attached to enclosure, adhered to the enclosure with two sided tape, and removeably connected to the enclosure.
 17. The rolled web material dispenser of claim 15 wherein the shield includes a pair of opposing sidewalls and a front facing portion that extends between the pair of opposing sidewalls.
 18. The rolled web material dispenser of claim 17 wherein the front facing portion extends continuously between the pair of opposing sidewalls.
 19. The rolled web material dispenser of claim 17 wherein each of the pair of opposing sidewalls extend in a rearward direction a distance that is shorter than a width of the shield.
 20. The rolled web material dispenser of claim 19 wherein the rearward extending distance of each of the pair of opposing sidewalls is sufficient to allow the shield to overlie the tail of the bulk roll of web material relative to opposing side facing directions.
 21. The rolled web material dispenser of claim 15 wherein body is at least one of transparent and translucent. 